Secular coming-of-age ceremonies

Domain XV · Nature, philosophy, social & rites of passage · 1889 · Germany

What it is

These are not psychotherapies. They are community rites of passage for young adolescents, each built from a preparation period (courses, "Jugendstunden", workshops, mentoring, service) and a public ceremony attended by family. The HVD describes JugendFEIER as non-religious, without a creed, and as…

Format

• UU Coming of Age (US and elsewhere). The Millspaugh handbook combines youth workshops, small-group ministry sessions for parents, social action projects and rites of passage. The CLF guidelines offer the programme from about grade 6 to grade 12, of flexible length (they suggest from seven weeks to…
• Typical session count and format for the therapist. None of the sources gives a number of therapy sessions; the work below is usually woven into ongoing individual, family or adolescent therapy. The therapist-side framework follows the rite's own arc:

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Jugendweihe / JugendFEIER (Germany). History: the HVD dates the tradition to 1889 as an alternative to Protestant confirmation and Catholic Firmung. The idea goes back to the 19th century and was popular among workers in the Weimar Republic; in the GDR the SED first rejected it (1950), reversed course in 1953 under Soviet pressure, and held the first large ceremony in East Berlin in March 1955, intending it to…
• Humanistisk konfirmasjon (Norway). First ceremony 6 May 1951 in the University aula in Oslo; HEF took it over from 1957; the current name dates from 2005; in 2022 nearly 13,800 young people took part, a little over 21 percent of 15-year-olds. Course of about 20 hours, mostly January/February to an April/May ceremony; evening, weekend, holiday or camp formats; topics include life stances and humanism, human rights,…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Does it use a device, heat, cold, water or a physical procedure? Has a medical professional checked that it is safe for you?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• secrecy, gifts, private messaging, isolation from parents. Working: the young person knows who to tell and how.
• the young person being made the judge between parents. Working: parents speak to each other, not through the child.
• fear of social exclusion keeping the young person silent. Working: the young person can name a safe adult and a plan.
• participants seeking therapy in the group; confidentiality confusion. Working: participants and parents know which hat you are wearing.
• debt, shame, gift-based rivalry between separated parents. Working: a plan the family can afford without the young person feeling lesser.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.